God gave each of us a body; a soul – our feelings, thoughts, and choices; and a spirit – which is hopelessly and helplessly lost in sin a degradation, thanks to our original father Adam and mother Eve. We go through life with this dead appendage weighing us down; yet, it is the driving factor, which is motivating us in life.
We all have a God-shaped hole inside of us, longing to find the key to unlock this immortal portal. God gave us this inner hunger and provided Jesus to serve as our precious key, for anyone humble enough to reach out for it (John 3:16-18). Yet, most of us go about looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places.
We have misguided goals, the most errant of motivations, and the palest of inspirations (Romans 7:7-13). We even attempt to use the regulations of physical and spiritual disciplines to feel good about our self. Yet, we find nothing deeper than the most finite of results.
We all have basic human needs in our soul for acceptance, love, affirmation, purpose, and identity. These essential desires influence us throughout our lifetime. They give us the illusion of hope, and the motivation for our perseverance toward what we consider as a worthwhile objective.
Satan is the ultimate counterfeit who tends to draw us away from God’s protection and to entice us on to his wide road that leads to destruction. He uses the temptation of indulgent methods and quick fixes to lure us into believing his lies. However, God has fulfilling plans for each of us, which He designed before He even formed us in our mother’s womb.
Jesus’ divine character, mind, and nature within us are our true rewards for seeking Him with our whole heart (Proverbs 3:5-6). He delights in ultimately supplying all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19; Psalm 37:4, 145:16-19). He is simply waiting on us to make Him our whole purpose and desire in life (Colossians 3:3-4).
Prayer:
Father God, we attempt to attain, through our self-effort, our independence, self-reliance, personal achievements, and to realize our full potential as Your creation. We end up stuck in the rut of performance and never truly find fulfillment in this lifetime. Even if we escape the realm of slavery to sin (Romans 6:17; Acts 26:18), we rarely enter the glorious stages of living as Your bondservant.
There is no God like You with glorious generosity, amazing grace, abundant love, merciful in judgments, etc. (Deuteronomy 33:26; 1 Samuel 2:2). When our spirit is weary within us, cause us to hear Your loving kindness with each new morning, and to put our complete trust in You. We want to live in the full awareness of the way You would have us to order our day, as we continually lift our soul up to You. You are our refuge and our strength (Psalm 32:8, 86:11, 143:8).
Thought for the Day:
Satan’s alternative methods for us to use to find fulfillment during this lifetime provide us with material idols, financial insecurity, accumulated possessions, misconceptions of social standing and vocational power, etc. which all actually end up as illusions that dissipate in the winds of misunderstanding and adversity that life sends our way; yet God lovingly awakens us each new morning so that we can listen to His guidance and to live as His disciple.
- Ephesians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 8:1; Galatians 5:15-25; Isaiah 50:4
